 "Photo: http://www.umich.edu/~daap/")
Twice a year during MSA (Michigan Student Assembly) elections, you may see some individuals passing out flyers in Mason Hall and the Diag. These flyers present a dire situation: the “serious decline in Black and Latino/a enrollment.” That organization spreading this message is referred to as DAAP or “Defend Affirmative Action Party.” For some reason I was interested in running for a position in MSA. My personal goal at the time was to align myself with people that were concerned about the presence of minorities on campus, retention rates at the university and the accomplishment gap between mainstream students and ethnic minorities.
I will admit that I have a scant history of involvement with DAAP on campus. However within my limited time with them, I began to see why not too many people on campus supported DAAP. What they want to accomplish is amiable; for example, they wish to “Stop tuition increases” “Organize a nationwide freeze on tuition,” “Increase minority enrollment and retention on campus,” and “Fight for equality and integration from K-12 through college.” They also oppose the “U.S. occupation in Iraq.”
As far as affirmative action, I believe the issue is outdated and it no longer serves as good policy because it is entirely focused on increasing the “number” of an ethnic group(s) on campus instead of addressing root problems of the failing public education system and resources for minority students. When I campaigned with DAAP, our efforts were of very low scale. It mostly consisted of passing out flyers containing goals that discussed “ending” a smorgasbord of issues that range from addressing a drop in minority enrollment, ending homophobia, fighting for K-12 education and other issues that are way beyond the scope of MSA.
Eventually, I became dismayed by the vagueness and scope of their campaign goals that lack concrete steps to accomplish them. It seems that the premise of DAAP’s presence is to address issues concerning the falling number of students admitted to the university. Specifically, they wish to assist those students that attended sub-par public-school districts where teachers failed to educate students the necessary skills to succeed in the university and beyond. However, using a student body to address such issues that are not relevant to current U-M students will not change the fate of students educated in poor-performing schools.
I disaffiliated myself with DAAP, although, not telling them because I had ideological differences with their approach. I think many of the issues they want to address can be done using private resources, money and student volunteering. For example, they can create a student organization that involves university students tutoring students in subjects such as math, science, reading and writing in poor-performing school districts. DAAP’s use of MSA is not appropriate because it does nothing to help students that haven’t been admitted to colleges. Instead of using MSA with the aims of convincing students to protest a state law, perhaps it is better to reach out to disadvantaged university students who are facing increasing costs of tuition, housing, and books.
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